FBI Agents Raid Home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao
Federal agents removed boxes from the house in the early hours of Thursday morning. The FBI also searched an additional home located in Oakland Hills. Oakland Hills.
By Lesley McClurg
Jun 20, 2024 04:56 PM
Shortly after 10 a.m., about two dozen agents carried multiple boxes out of the home, put the boxes in cars and left. They did not comment to reporters other than to say they had cleared the scene and no agents remained.
The house was occupied by someone who spoke with agents after they left, however it was not clear who this person was.
The neighbor Nina Medina, president of the National Latino Peace Officers Association spoke to KQED that in Spanish that, since law enforcement agencies require the approval of a judge to execute an investigation the raid is likely to be related to something more serious.
Thao is yet to make a comment about the development. Thao was scheduled to attend a 10:00 a.m. press event held in San Francisco about affordable housing The organizers claimed that they didn’t receive any notice in advance that the mayor was not going to be attending.
“This is a sad day for the City of Oakland,” declared the former Oakland Police chief LeRonne Armstrong, in an interview. “Oakland is an area in a state of crisis. Violence, crime, shootings in the streets, homelessness that is uncontrollable, unchecked camps, budget deficit and many more. The greatest obstacle in overcoming these challenges is the lapses of the leadership at City Hall.”
The FBI also raided two residences in the area of View Crest Court and Skyline Boulevard in the Oakland Hills on Thursday morning, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article.
The properties are believed to belong to the members of a particular family which has the business Cal Waste Solutions, Oakland’s curbside recycling service. In addition, the Chronicle reported that the Chronicle also stated that the offices of Cal Waste were swarmed on Thursday morning. Oaklandside had previously stated that the company was investigated over donations to campaigns of Thao as well as other elected officials.
“This is rough, to say the least,” said PJ Johnston, a strategist for the political realm who was also the press secretary of the former mayor Willie Brown, who faced many FBI investigations during his time as mayor. “At the initial stages of an FBI investigation, it’s all bad publicity, and you are almost helpless in your ability to fight back.”
The Oakland Public Ethics Commission is also looking into the Oakland mayor over contributions for her campaigns. The mayor was under fire recently due to concerns over criminal activity and the demise of Oakland’s A’s baseball team and she could be facing a recall vote in November, after her opponents gathered enough signatures to be eligible to vote.
“If there is evidence that emerges that she acted improperly, that on its own is a fairly decisive problem,” Johnston declared. “But even if there isn’t anything serious against her, she still faces weeks, months of horrible publicity — all of which helps recall advocates and hurts her ability to lead the city of Oakland.”
Mayor Thao has “very little chance of survival,” according to Eric Jaye, the president of Storefront Political Media, a firm that offers political consulting in California, due to his FBI investigation and its associated media blitz will not be resolved prior to November.
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